


Goodnight

by nillial



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Dreams, Found Family, Gen, Minor Julia Burnsides/Magnus Burnsides, Nightmares, an alien carpenter, and also six other aliens that are not present in this fic but theyre there!! dont worry, and many many dogs, angus has one too, but its all good in the end, magnus has nightmares, post story and song, sometimes a family is a boy detective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:19:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nillial/pseuds/nillial
Summary: Magnus has a nightmare.Just as he's preparing for another sleepless night, he hears the creaking of his bedroom door and a small voice that whispers, "Sir?"





	Goodnight

Magnus has nightmares sometimes.

They’re about the Hunger, about its inescapability— about the century of newly-cleared static, still a little fuzzy around the edges— about his deaths and the deaths of his friends. Mostly, though, they’re about Julia. 

Some of them are about the war. He doesn’t know exactly how she died, so his brain likes to fill in the gaps in the worst of ways. Sometimes, she’s face-to-face with a man they despise but who Magnus can’t recognize. She’s ready to defend Raven’s Roost like she always was, but, before she can say anything, he pulls out a dagger and slits her throat. Sometimes, she’s vengeful and heartbroken, and the buildings and bridges alight with flame only fuel her fury as she charges towards the opposing army. But she alone isn’t enough to fight her way to where the man, as cowardly as always, hides behind hundreds of soldiers. Sometimes she’s just going about her business in the Hammer and Tongs when she hears a thunderous booming noise, followed by a chorus of piercing screams. She feels the ground beneath her crumble, feels the building slide, feels an intense fear and panic she’s never felt before, and she doesn’t know what to do, or where to go, or what’s happening, and she’s so, so scared, and then the world comes toppling upon her, and there’s a sharp pain all over, and then everything  _ stops. _

The others are about the both of them together. Sometimes, they’re younger, vital, happy and blissful and content in their new relationship. Steven shoots them looks, but they’re more playful glares than scowls. Sometimes, they’re older, and Julia’s curly hair is more gray than brown. She sits on a rocking chair— walnut wood, of course— and she pets one of their many dogs, smiling at him, her laugh lines showing, and they’re happy. Sometimes, they’re in front of a fireplace, ageless, timeless, careless, and warm from the inside out. He’s at ease until he wakes and finds the spot next to him cold and empty.  

Her face is a little different each time. The mole on her neck is on the left and not the right, or her ear piercings are higher than they should be, or her crooked tooth is on the bottom row instead of the top, or something that he can’t name is just— out of place. Magnus fears he’s forgetting what she looks like. He hoards the few photos he has left of her like a dragon hoards gold.

In every dream, he’s always with her in some way or another. In every dream, he can’t save her. 

He wakes up one night with a film of cold sweat on his forehead. It’s nowhere near morning, but it’ll be a while before he falls asleep again. He should probably get a glass of water. Work on something. Calm down. 

Just as he swings his legs over the side of the bed, he hears a soft knock at the door.

Magnus makes a grunt that’s halfway confused and halfway tired. His bedroom door creaks open.

“Sir?” says Angus, his voice barely above a whisper. “Can I come in?”

Magnus peers through the darkness at Angus’s face, which is still halfway obscured by the door. He rubs his eyes and says, “Yeah. Yeah, of course, Ango. Come on in.”

Angus tiptoes inside, despite the fact that there’s no one else in the house except for the two of them. And the dogs, of course. Maybe he’s trying to be courteous for the dogs. He’s polite like that.

Magnus lives alone with his pets. His friends visit him nearly every day and he comes over to Taako’s on Fridays for supper with everybody, but he still lives alone. He’s not cynical about it.  He has Steven and Johann and the rest of his animals, but he can’t help if he misses having roommates sometimes. 

Angus keeps him company. He likes to crash in his guest room, which is, in actuality, more just Angus’s room at this point. Magnus built him a desk out of oak and a bookshelf out of maple wood. Despite his ample storage space, he still finds old homework and big textbooks and Scholastic titles scattered around the floor. He doesn’t mind. Angus is young and often in a rush. Besides, it makes the house feel a lot less empty.

Angus settles next to him on the bed, careful and soft. He’s wearing a pair of ostentatiously bright blue pajamas that Taako picked out for him. His glasses are askew, which makes Magnus wonders if he slept in them, or if he even slept at all.

“What’s goin’ on, little guy?” he asks him, his voice still groggy. Even through the dark, Magnus can see him chewing on the inside of his cheek— a nervous habit of his.

Angus, whose distress is already apparent on his face, says, “Oh— um— it’s just… it’s… it’s nothing. Sorry for bothering you, sir. I’m gonna—”

“No, no, Angus,” Magnus says, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as Angus begins to stand. “It’s okay.”

His expression shifts from worried to calm to embarrassed in a matter of seconds. He averts his gaze to the floor and twiddles with his thumbs. “It’s stupid.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he replies.

“No, I will, it’s just…” Angus takes a deep breath. “Before I say anything, sir, you have to understand that I am  _ not _ a kid anymore.”

Angus is eleven and, although he may be a boy genius, is most definitely still a kid. 

“Okay,” says Magnus. 

Angus looks around at the dark room, searching for anywhere that isn’t Magnus’s eyes, before he finally mumbles, “I… uh… I had a nightmare.”

He eyes over Angus and sees the glistening of sweat on his forehead— the same kind of cold sweat Magnus woke up with a few moments ago. “Oh.”   


“There was— I— it was weird,” Angus continues. “We were— we were at the Bureau, I think, and everyone was there. And I mean  _ everyone, _ sir. You were there, but so was Jenkins, and Grandpa, and my parents, and my friends, and... It was everyone I’d ever met. We were all running from— from  _ something _ , and I— I was the only one left, eventually, and—”   


“It’s okay, Angus,” he reassures. “Everything’s okay now.”   


“I know that, sir, but I…” He takes a deep breath. “I came in here because… I think I’d just feel safer sleeping in here tonight. If that’s okay with you, of course, sir. I don’t mean to impose.”

Safety isn’t something that Angus is often concerned with. He breaks into the homes of mob bosses and follows around serial killers to gather clues. He’s recognized at several local militias for solving more cases than any seasoned investigator there. Kravitz, Lup, and Barry have found him sneaking around necromantic cult meetings on at least six separate occasions, two of which involved Angus blending in as a very tiny member and one of which involved him as the sacrifice. He’s more often curious than afraid. If Angus is scared, it means he’s  _ terrified _ .

So, of course, Magnus scoots over, lifts the blankets, and pats the spot next to him.

Angus breathes a sigh of relief. He burrows under the covers and rests his head on the pillow. Magnus gingerly lays down next to him, careful not to stir him, but Angus doesn’t seem to mind him much. Within a matter of minutes, his breathing steadies into a slow rise and fall. 

He smiles. 

Magnus has nightmares sometimes. 

But he’s not alone, and that makes things better. 

(Magnus falls back asleep that night.)

**Author's Note:**

> ohhh boy... its been a long time since i last published anything on here but i SWEAR im still writing fic! its just. a lot of WIPs. and just a heads up: you might see a new TAZ fic from me soon!!  
> anyways!! i just wanted to write angus and his... dad??? weird uncle? older brother figure? that kid has like 7 family members and just does what he pleases. i love it
> 
> Tumblr: nillial


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